Delhi Police seize two Fortuners with same chassis number in east Delhi
The anti-auto theft squad of Delhi Police's west district recovered two white Toyota Fortuner SUVs bearing identical registration and chassis numbers from Gandhi Nagar and Vivek Vihar in east Delhi on Friday. Police arrested 23-year-old property dealer Aryan Mavi for using one of the vehicles, while a search remains underway for an absconding fraudster.
Investigators had been trying to trace the two SUVs for six months after receiving information that both were operating on the same registration plates. Officers scanned automatic number plate recognition cameras and CCTV footage, spotting the vehicles at opposite ends of the city within minutes of each other.
According to the police, the SUV recovered from Vivek Vihar was the original vehicle, while the one seized in Gandhi Nagar carried duplicated registration and chassis details. The two vehicles had been moving across Delhi and neighboring states for nearly five years.
Police stated that the vehicle recovered from Gandhi Nagar originally belonged to Dr. Nishant Sharma, whose Fortuner was stolen in 2021 and reported at the Preet Vihar police station. The stolen SUV's identity numbers had been altered to match those of another vehicle owner, Pramod. In 2021, Vasant Kunj South police recovered Sharma's altered vehicle and mistakenly handed it to Pramod, who continued using it without realizing it was not his original SUV.
Meanwhile, Pramod's actual original Fortuner was being used by Mavi. Investigators revealed that Pramod had rented his original SUV to a man named Sooraj, who cheated him and fled. Mavi then purchased the vehicle from Sooraj and used it for nearly five years, despite knowing Sooraj was an absconding accused in a 2019 cheating, forgery, and criminal conspiracy case.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Hareshwar V Swami said the recoveries were made during a special drive launched against stolen vehicles ahead of Independence Day security arrangements. Both SUVs remain in the custody of the anti-auto theft squad.
